Cardinals Winter League Notebook: Wk 7, Pt 1

Leonda Markee

12/05/2012

Results from Cardinals prospects competing last week in Australia, the Dominican, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Hector Hernandez is pitching well in PR.

Australian League

Perth Heat –
Perth traveled to Melbourne to take on the Aces in a four-game set, four being the typical number of games in a series for the Australian Baseball League. The Heat won game one 9-2, split a Saturday double-header then took game four. They remain in first place with a 10-4 overall record, two games in front of Sydney.

- Adam Melker: Perth's first-place standing has little to do with Melker's contributions as the Heat's starting left fielder singled once in 15 at bats. He worked one base-on-balls, was hit by a pitch, scored twice and drove in one with a stolen base. Over his last 10 games Melker is batting .108/.190/.108/.299, 4-for-37 with two walks, four runs scored and five brought across. Melker struck out nine times.
Season-to-date: .208/.306/.283/.589, 53 AB, 11 R, 11 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 12 SO, 1 SB, 0 CS, .244 BABIP

Sydney Blue Sox –
Sydney matched the Heat's 3-1 mark for the week during a road trip to Brisbane. They topped the Bandits 8-3 in the opener, split Saturday's double-header 2-3 and 3-2 before capturing game four 9-2. The Blue Sox have an overall mark of 8-6, which upped them from a tie for third into sole possession of second place, two games behind Perth.

- Geoff Klein: Klein was the starting catcher in three games, batting fourth once and fifth twice. He singled once in 12 at bats with two runs driven in, both by groundouts. Klein worked a base-on-balls with three strikeouts and had a .111 BABIP. Defensively, he nailed a runner attempting to steal second.
Season-to-date: .184/.231/.184/.414, 49 AB, 2 R, 9 H, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 11 SO, 0 SB, 0 CS, .237 BABIP

Dominican (Winter) League

Stats are through games of December 4th.

Aguilas Cibaenas –
Aguilas went 4-1 with one postponement since the last report.

- Audry Perez: out with a right knee injury
- Oscar Taveras: St. Louis' number one position prospect had four starts, all in right. He hit fifth once and sixth the balance of the time. Taveras had two multi-hit games early in the week but went hitless on Saturday and was 1-for-4 Tuesday. He had a rare day off during Sunday's contest. For the week, he had six hits, including three doubles, in 17 at bats with three runs scored, one RBI, two base-on-balls and two strikeouts for a line of .353/.421/.529/.950 with a .400 BABIP.
Season-to-date: .303/.377/.475/.852, 122 AB, 22 R, 37 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 13 BB, 16 SO, 3 SB, 1 CS, 3 E, .320 BABIP, 3 E

Gigantes del Cibao –
The Gigantes went 3-2 with one postponement.

- Ronny Gil: Gil made three starts, all of them in the nine slot. Two starts were at short and one as the designated hitter. Saturday was Gil's best game of the week. The Gigantes' starting shortstop singled three times in four at bats, touched home once and knocked in another in a contest Cibao won 7-4. He was rewarded with another start on Sunday where he added another single in three at bats. Gil was hitless in one at bat with a base-on-balls on Tuesday. His weekly line: .500/.556/.500/1.056, 4-for-8 with a run scored, one knocked in, a walk and a stolen base. He did not strike out but did commit an error.
Season-to-date: .357/.379/.464/.844, 28 AB, 5 R, 10 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3 SB, 1 CS, .391 BABIP, 2 E

Leones del Escogido –
Escogido won only one of six contests this week.

- Keith Butler: Butler did not appear in a game.
Season-to-date: 1.50 ERA/5.53 FIP, 6 G, 0 GS, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 HB, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1.00 WHIP, .211 BAA, .214 BABIP
- Juan Castillo: Castillo made his first and only appearance in a Dominican Winter League game on the 27th when he pinch hit in the eighth. He struck out with no one on to finish the frame and caught the ninth for the Leones.
- Starlin Rodriguez: Rodriguez has not played since November 2nd.
Season-to-date: .250/.250/.250/.500, 4 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 SB, 0 CS, .500 BABIP

Tigres del Licey –
Licey went 4-2 for the week.

- Maikel Cleto: Cleto did not make an appearance this week.
Season-to-date: 1.13 ERA/3.83 FIP, 8 G, 0 GS, 8 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HB, 5 BB, 5 SO, 1.13 WHIP, .129 BAA, .154 BABIP
- Victor Marte: Marte directly contributed to two of the Tigres' four victories this week. He earned his first save on Wednesday, the 28th by facing the minimum over 1 1/3 frames. Marte was inserted into the eighth with the tying run at second and coaxed a 6-1 ground out to end the threat. The right-hander negated an infield single by inducing a double-play ball to seal a 4-3 win. He followed that with a scoreless ninth and tenth on Friday, won by Licey in 13. On Monday Marte earned his second ‘W' by retiring all four he opposed. Marte came into the game with two out in the eighth and runners at first and second. A swinging strikeout kept the Tigres' deficit to one, which the 32-year-old maintained with a perfect ninth. Licey rallied to take the game and reward Marte with the win. His weekly stats: 0.00 ERA/1.91 FIP, 3 G, 0 GS, 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 0 HR, 0 HB, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0.43 WHIP, .143 BAA, .182 BABIP, 3 IR/0 IRS
Season-to-date: 3.38 ERA/4.32 FIP, 3 G, 0 GS, 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 HB, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1.88 WHIP, .250 BAA, .333 BABIP
- Willy Paulino: There was no information out of the Dominican Instructional League this week.

Mexican Pacific League

Pitcher Anthony Ferrara has been added to Los Mochis' squad. The lefthander was scheduled to report on December 2nd then spend a week getting his arm back into shape before seeing game action. Stats are through games of December 4th.

Caneros de Los Mochis –
The Caneros lost their first game of the week, won the next two but dropped the final three for a 2-4 mark.

- Jermaine Curtis: Curtis' bat was on fire this week as he had at least one hit in each of his six starts. The third baseman displayed minimal power, however, with only one of his nine hits going for extra-bases. Los Mochis' number two hitter added three free passes to his nine hits in 23 at bats with three runs scored, two RBI's, two stolen bases in two attempts and four strikeouts. Curtis' line: .391/.462/.435/.896 with a .474 BABIP.
Season-to-date: .319/.385/.395/.780, 119 AB, 16 R, 38 H, 6 2B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 13 BB, 17 SO, 3 SB, 2 CS, .359 BABIP, 3 E,

Venados de Mazatlan –
Mazatlan continues struggle in the win/loss column, going 2-4, for the seventh consecutive reporting period with a losing record.

- Nick Additon: Additon made only one start. On Thursday, he faced Los Mochis for the second time this fall. The lefty served up three of his five hits in the second which knocked in two of the three tallies he yielded. A lead-off walk in his sixth and final inning of work did more damage when a sac fly eventually brought the runner across. Additon struck out eight with five ground outs and three fly outs. He issued three free passes, one of them intentional. Overall, he is just four innings shy of the team lead in innings pitched.
Season-to-date: 4.37 ERA/3.49 FIP, 9 G, 9 GS, 45.1 IP, 46 H, 25 R, 22 ER, 2 HR, 2 HB, 19 BB (2 IBB), 41 SO, 1.43 WHIP, .267 BAA, .336 BABIP

Puerto Rican League

The Cangrejeros de Santurce join the report this week as both pitcher Javier Machuca (GCL Cardinals) and first baseman Jonathan Rodriguez (Palm Beach) are on their roster. Stats are through games of December 4th.

Criollos de Caguas –
Caguas had a winning record for the third straight week with four wins against three losses.

- Luis Mateo: Mateo was the starting shortstop in four games, batting either eighth or ninth. The 22-year-old flashed a bit of extra-base power as Four of his five hits in 17 at bats were doubles. Mateo banged two of those doubles on the Friday when he scored one of Caguas' 15 tallies and knocked in another. He compiled a line of .294/.294/.529/.824 with a .357 BABIP. Mateo scored twice and drove in three with three strikeouts and an error.
Season-to-date: .328/.364/.426/.790, 61 AB, 8 R, 20 H, 6 2B, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 12 SO, 2 SB, 0 CS, .400 BABIP, 3 E

Gigantes de Carolina –
Carolina went 4-3 this week.

- Juan Caballero: Caballero has not made an appearance since November 15th.
Season-to-date: 0.00 ERA/4.20 FIP, 1 G, 0 GS, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 0 HB, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.00 WHIP, .200 BAA, .250 BABIP
- Anthony Garcia: Garcia was a starter in all seven of Carolina's contests, two in left and the balance in right. His peak performance came in Thursday's double-header against Santurce. Batting fifth, Garcia singled twice in four at bats, touched home once and stole a base in the Gigantes' 4-3 loss in the opener. He reached base all four times he came to the plate in the nightcap, singling once with three free passes. That single drove in his team's final two runs in a 6-2 victory. Overall, he put up a line of .231/.333/.269/.603, 6-for-26 with a double, four walks, a run scored and three RBI's. Garcia fanned six times, stole a base and had a .300 BABIP.
Season-to-date: .292/.382/.396/.778, 48 AB, 4 R, 14 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 11 SO, 1 SB, 1 CS, .361 BABIP

Indios de Mayaguez –
Mayaguez split it down the middle this week with three up and three down.

- Hector Hernandez: Hernandez was superb in his first start for Mayaquez on the 28th. The 21-year-old shut out his opponents to a single and a double over six with one free pass issued but did not figure in the 4-3 winning decision. Hernandez struck out five with seven ground outs and one fly out. On Sunday the lefty acted as an early stopper in the fourth when he worked out of a one out, runners at first and second inherited jam by coaxing a force at second then picking off the runner at first 1-3-6. Back-to-back solo shots were the only tallies yielded by Hernandez in 3 1/3. His weekly line: 2.00 ERA/5.42 FIP, 2 G, 1 GS, 9 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 0 HB, 2 BB, 6 SO, 0.89 WHIP, .200 BAA, .182 BABIP, 2 IR/0 IRS
Season-to-date: 4.22 ERA/5.64 FIP, 6 G, 1 GS, 10.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 0 HB, 4 BB, 6 SO, 1.13 WHIP, .235 BAA, .222 BABIP

Cangrejeros de Santurce –
Santurce went 5-2 this week.

- Javier Machuca: Machuca has not made an appearance.
- Jonathan Rodriguez: Rodriguez has appeared in four games to date, most recently on the 4th when he worked a free pass as a pinch hitter in the seventh. Rodriguez came around to score and remained in the game at first.
Season-to-date: .111/.333/.111/.444, 9 AB, 2 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 4 SO, 0 SB, 0 CS, .200 BABIP

Coming soon: Part two of this report will cover Cardinals prospects' results the past week in the Venezuelan and Venezuelan Parallel Leagues.